As a student at the business school at Rice University, I had the opportunity to meet Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. If you follow the now 86 year old business magnate at all, the "Oracle of Omaha" was just as you might imagine - jovial, optimistic, playful, wise, and candid...

...​and maybe even a bit flirtatious with the ladies! I certainly got an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek from Mr. Buffett. All in good fun though. I loved every minute of it.About 100 or so MBA students from around the country started the day at Nebraska Furniture Mart, one of Mr. Buffett’s first purchases. It seems that every business encounter and dealing of Mr. Buffett's comes with an entertaining story, and the Nebraska Furniture Mart certainly has one. More on that below.We were invited to meet with Mr. Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway Headquarters after touring the NFM facilities, and then were invited to join him at his favorite lunch spot, Piccolo's, which unfortunately closed their doors last year. In his usual jovial and folksy manner, the spry 80 year old billionaire imparted the words of wisdom to us. He said that he was an open book and to ask any question. Here are a FEW of the amazing and hilarious nuggets he shared with us that day-

On his investment philosophy and why Facebook and similar stocks don’t appeal to him: “You can play Bobby Fischer in any game but chess. Go up against him in weightlifting. Go up against him singing Miley Cyrus tunes. Just not chess.”

“The most important decision you make is who you marry. Do that carefully. I’m looking around and thinking, it might be too late for some of you.”

Addressing all the business school students in the room: “Everyone in this room is VERY lucky. If you don’t believe me, play this little game with me. If we put a ticket for all the different walks of life in a bowl – different genders, races, ages, ethnicities, from different countries of origin, varying levels of health, those with handicaps, everything you can think of - every different lot in today’s world is a different ticket in the bowl. Would you trade in your single ticket that you own right now for a chance to draw 100 more tickets? You have 100 chances to improve your lot in life. Would you take it? The answer is likely no. There are so many others who don’t have the lot in life you have right now. You are very blessed.”

Concerning his best friend and business partner, Charlie Munger, Warren stated that they definitely do not always agree. Once when they were deliberating heavily over a business deal and matters were getting increasingly heated, Charlie said, “Warren, you will agree with me because you are smart, and I’m right!”

Discussing the Giving Pledge, where billionaires pledge a large part of their fortune to philanthropic causes, Warren stated “I love Anna Nicole Smith. You can’t believe how much good Anna Nicole did for my sales pitch to these billionaires.”

On his philanthropic pledge to give away most of his fortune upon his death: “I have surplus wealth. It has no utility to me. It has all the meaning to others. This is not an act of generosity. It is a rational act.”

“People like to talk about some of the most celebrated economists in history, Keynes, Adam Smith, Friedman, but I’ll tell you who is the most profound and insightful of all – George W. Bush. We were at the beginning of the economic crisis, and Bush walked out on the White House lawn and very astutely said ‘If money isn’t loosened up, this sucker could go down.’”

On the economy: “When people are fearful, they act as mob. Yell ‘FIRE’, and people leave the room swiftly. Try to tell them it’s ok to come back in, and they reenter very slowly and cautiously. People are fearful about the state of the economy right now. It’s not going to change overnight.”

Concerning using complex financial models and extensive excel spreadsheets: “I don’t use excel spreadsheets. I don’t like activities that convey false precision. It leads people to believe that the future will be more orderly.”

“I remember when I gave a speech to the business school students at Harvard. Shortly afterwards, the Dean called me up and asked what exactly I said to his students. I told him that I said go to work for who you admire most. The Dean replied ‘Ah, that explains it. They are all self-employed now!’”

On his investment philosophy / buying Lubrizol: “It’s like the decision to get married. You look around in your 20s and you’ve got lots of options and things look pretty good. There’s no need to rush. In your 30s, the field narrows, but still looks pretty good. In your 40s even the deliveryman is starting to look good. When we bought Lubrizol, we weren’t in our 40s. We were far from it.”

“Your most important job is raising your children. My parents provided me unconditional love. Not unconditional approval, but definitely unconditional love. My father always told me that whatever I did, he knew I was going to be good at it. Also, what you say and how you act must be consistent with kids. If not, kids will figure it out. There is no rewind button.”

On one of his many companies, Fruit of the Loom: “Have you heard our new slogan? We cover the asses of the masses.”

On his formative influences: “The two most influential people in my life are my dad and my first wife. I was a blank slate when my dad got me, and then a messed up slate by the time I met my first wife. She nurtured me. She changed me. In the first five years of marriage, I changed significantly. I was broken, and if the psyche is damaged, it comes back under tender love and care. It wouldn’t have happened without her helping me…I was very lucky. I had the right heroes. Pick good heroes as you will take on their characteristics. You should be learning from other people all the time. Have the right heroes.”

“If people WANT to work with you rather than HAVE to work with you, that is so powerful. Qualities that make someone successful are chosen, not God-given, and they are habitual. Start practicing them early.”

On good business leaders: “You MUST be able to communicate well. I had a terrible fear of public speaking as a young man, so I decided to do something about it finally. When I was in New York, I saw a course on public speaking. I wrote a check for $50 and enrolled in the Dale Carnegie Public Speaking course. I promptly ran home and cancelled the check. But when I moved back to Omaha, I saw that the Carnegie course was being offered locally, and this time I paid cash because I knew I wouldn’t back out. Each class we had a homework assignment to do some type of public speaking, and they gave out a pencil to that week’s best story. I had proposed to my wife that week and shared that with the class, so in one week I won a wife and a pencil! The Carnegie course made a significant impact on me. It’s the only diploma / certificate I have hanging on my wall.”

On today’s uncertain times: “The world is always uncertain. I was conceived in 1929. I’m the product of the crash of 1929. My parents had nothing. Never get depressed looking at the state of the world. Opportunities are abounding. It’s a great time to be born. People are living better now than ever before.”

On the U.S.: “The U.S. believes in equality of opportunity (at the very least professed) and in the rule of law, which are powerful founding beliefs and allow business to flourish. It was just as important to educate my dad’s son in the 1930s as it was Rockefeller’s son. We must continue investing in these beliefs.”

When asked which CEOs he talks to regularly: “Well…I speak to Ajita Jain (CEO of one of Buffett’s insurance businesses) just about every day. He called to talk to me about insuring A-Rod with the most expensive disability insurance policy ever. That was interesting. I talk to Ajita because we have interesting things to talk about. It’s just so much more interesting than talking about what I’m going to have for lunch. And I talk to Charlie every day. We argue back and forth over deals. He thinks of a price. I think of a price. We take whichever one is higher. Our customers probably think we add them together!”

“I have a woman executive that frequently talks to me about business matters. She comes to me looking for advice, but really all I do is listen. I tell her I’m her orangutan. I just sit and listen to her. It’s important to talk things out. By talking it through, you will see the weaknesses in your own reasoning. It will cause you to think better even if you just talk to yourself in the mirror. Be an orangutan for yourself and others.”

When someone asked an inaudible question: “You know, my friend Charlie was starting to lose his hearing. I became concerned, so I went to the doctor and asked him what I could do about it. The doctor advised me to stand across the room, speak in a normal tone of voice and ask him a question in order to determine the extent of his hearing loss. So the next time I saw Charlie I stood across the room and asked ‘Charlie, should we purchase Microsoft at $26?’ There was no reply, so I walked halfway across the room and asked again in a normal tone of voice, ‘Charlie, should we purchase Microsoft at $26?’ Again, no reply. So I walked right up behind him and asked one more time, ‘Charlie, should we purchase Microsoft at $26??’ Charlie replied, ‘For the third time, YES!’”

“Follow your passion. Take the job you would take if you had all the money in the world, and you will be good at it. I jump out of bed in the morning. I tap dance to work. Find what causes you to tap dance. This isn’t just because I’m a billionaire. When I got my first job offer, I was so excited I never asked what the salary was.”

On emerging markets: “The world is not a zero sum game. I want the Chinese and the Indians to do well, especially in a nuclear world. It behooves society to improve everyone’s position.”

On his investment philosophy: “Every day the mote is either widening or narrowing. You must protect the economic castle.”

**Nebraska Furniture Mart was founded in 1937 by a Russian immigrant woman called Mrs. B. She was about 4’ 10”, couldn’t read or write, and was widely known as one of the sharpest and also one of the most irascible women in business. NFM went on to become the largest home furnishing store in North America with the simple business tenet “Sell cheap and tell the truth”. In 1983, she sold a majority interest to Mr. Buffett with a one page contract in simple, straightforward language. Mrs. B signed with an X. If you know Mr. Buffett’s investment philosophy, you know that he looks to buy companies with strong management already in place, and he intends to keep the management team in place after the acquisition. Mrs. B continued managing Nebraska Furniture Mart up to 103 years of age, when she officially turned over the reins to her grandson in 1997.